HBO Max to Relauch as Max, Add Discovery+ Content
Warner Bros. Discovery announced today that it will rebrand HBO Max as Max, add content from Discovery+, and relaunch the service in the U.S. on May 23.
“From the biggest superheroes to real-life champions, from culture-shaping dramas to taste-shaping entertainment, from fantastical realms to the realest of worlds, Max will offer an unrivaled range of choice,” Warner Bros. Discovery president and CEO JB Perrette said. “This new brand signals an important change from two narrower products, HBO Max and Discovery+, to our broader content offering and consumer proposition. While each product offered something for some people, Max will have a broad array of quality choices for everybody.”
Max will be available at three different pricing tiers. Max Ad-Lite will offer two concurrent streams, 1080p resolution, no offline downloads, and 5.1 surround sound quality for $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year. Max Ad Free will add up to 30 offline downloads and 5.1 surround sound quality for $15.99 per month or $149.99 per year. And Max Ultimate Ad Free will feature four concurrent streams, up to 4K Ultra HD resolution, 100 offline downloads, and Dolby Atmos sound quality for $19.99 per month or $199.99 per year.
(By comparison, HBO Max is today offered in two tiers: an ad-supported plan for $9.99 per month and an ad-free tier for $15.99 per month. And Discovery+ will continue as a standalone service that costs $6.99 per month without ads and $4.99 per month with ads.)
The firm says that it will add at least 40 new movies and TV show seasons to Max every month, and it announced three additions—The Penguin with Colin Farrell, Smartless: On the Road with Will Arnett and Jason Bateman, and a new Big Bang Theory project—at today’s event. Max will also include content from Discovery’s brands, like HGTV, Food Network, Discovery Channel, TLC, and ID.